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| Fall Fire Chili, close up, but going fast! |
Ingredients:
1 large red onion, diced or chopped (I like my chili chunky, I do a ½ “ or bigger chop)
2 large cloves of roasted garlic (you can substitute the same amount of minced fresh garlic)
2 TBL EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
2 butternut squash (or substitute your favorite winter squash) peeled, seeded, and chopped into 1” pieces
1 each of red, yellow, orange bell peppers, seeded and diced (larger or smaller, as you like it)
1 tsp – 1 TBL dried Chipotle Pepper (I use Frontier Chipotle)
2 TBL dried oregano (I use Simply Organic Oregano)
1 TBL dried cumin (again, I use Simply Organic Cumin Seed)
1 TBL dried orange zest, or fresh (for dried, I use Frontier Organic Dried Orange Peel)
Salt to taste (I use Celtic Sea Salt)
Black Pepper or Pepper Melange to taste (I use Frontier Pink Peppercorns)
16 ounce box of Cremini (“baby bella”) mushrooms (plain white will do fine, as well, the brown mushrooms have a “meatier” taste) Portabello chunks also work well.
1-2 cups of Pinot Noir to taste (I used Pinot Evil in the environmentally friendly 3 liter box)
2 large cans of diced tomatoes (I like Muir Glen)
1 quart of vegetable broth (I use Pacific No Chicken Broth, you can also use chicken or beef broth)
1 can organic Black Beans
1 can organic Pinto Beans
1 can organic White Kidney (Canellini) Beans
1 can organic Dark Red Kidney Beans
First step is to heat your pan to a medium heat (I use Cuisinart Stainless Steel stockpots) and when the pan is hot, add your olive oil (heat the pan, not the oil!). Add the diced/chopped red onion, and stir while cooking, a few minutes until onion is translucent. Add garlic, peppers, and butternut squash and cook for about 5 minutes, still on medium (you may need to adjust the heat a bit higher with the addition of more foods), stirring occasionally. You can add the chipotle, cumin, oregano, orange zest and salt and pepper at this point and continue cooking until nicely sauteed on the outside and the garlic and herbs are fragrant, and vegetables are coated with garlic and spices.
Next add the Pinot Noir,canned tomatoes (do not drain), broth, mushrooms and bring to a boil, immediately reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for about 30 minutes. Check to be sure that the squash is tender.
Gently add the canned beans, one at at time and folding gently into the chili to distribute. Let simmer on low for another 15 minutes, and check for seasonings, to see if more is needed.
This can be served as is, or with your favorite toppings. I added Daiya shredded cheddar style cheese substitute (it melts and gets all gooey!) and fresh chopped cilantro and sage on the top as a garnish. This makes a large stockpot and reasonably should serve 10-12 people, but you may want to cut that number in half, as everyone wanted seconds, and thirds! The kids loved this,as well. Great on a beautiful autumn day, but we'll be eating this on cold winter days, as well! Hope you enjoy – if you try it, please let me know how it comes out.
